Insider says Apple's AI algorithms will run on-device

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the latest edition of his weekly Power On newsletter, Apple is going to have all of the new AI capabilities made available to iPhone users through the iOS 18 update, handled on-device. Without having all AI functions handled through the cloud, Gurman says iPhone users will be able to have AI features run quicker and remain private.

Samsung's Galaxy AI allows users to decide whether to run certain AI features on-device or through the cloud. The user can decide whether he/she wants a less ambitious version of the feature with more privacy or a high-performance version of the feature with less privacy protection.

There is a drawback to Apple's plan. Without being able to access more powerful cloud computers that can handle more complex AI algorithms, iPhone users might be limited to the tasks that the phone will be able to handle once iOS 18 is installed. Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT need to go through the cloud to run on smartphones. Gurman says that the answer is for Apple to allow some cloud-based AI features to be available on iOS 18 and have them powered by Google's Gemini or another AI outfit.

Apple had previously been rumored to be in talks with Google and OpenAI although there has been speculation that a generative chatbot will not be part of the iOS 18 update. If Apple is going to keep AI processing on-device, leaving out a chatbot makes sense. To reiterate, LLMs need to be able to access servers through the cloud.

We should learn everything that Apple is planning to do with AI on iOS 18 on June 10th when WWDC 2024 begins. Already, iOS 18 is being billed as the biggest update to the operating system since the first iPhone was released in 2007. You might have to temper your expectations a little since it is believed that Apple will first utilize AI to help iPhone users handle everyday tasks with their phones. 

Personally, I'd love to see Apple's AI initiative make some big changes to Siri`so that the digital assistant doesn't have to answer queries by showing responses from multiple websites. The head of technology research at Melius Research, Ben Reitzes, has said that the big news coming on June 10th at WWDC will be the announcement of an AI App Store that will offer AI-related apps to iPhone users.